Pages

Friday, October 17, 2008

A cheshire smile over 24 Sussex

In retrospect, it may be that for the Tories a minority is better than a majority. Likely, the Liberals would be better off today had the Tories gotten a majority. Had the Tories received a majority, the Liberals could come into the House every day guns a-blazing, throw dust into the air, and vote against the government without any danger of actually bringing the government down. The last thing the Liberals want right now is an election. They are suffering organizational and financial chaos, and a huge leadership deficit. They are in a position where they, on the one hand, need to speak against the government (that is, after all, their job as "the Queen's Loyal Opposition") but vote with the government (or abstain) lest the government fall. It's a frustrating spot for the Liberals to be in. To preserve themselves and find the time to rebuild their devastated party, they need to prop up the Tory government. This, of course, will not endear them to those who voted Liberal. And daily they will have to face the scorn of the NDP and the BQ. You gotta' love Canadian politics.